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Short-Term Rental Solutions Helps Communities Increase Revenue and Efficiency

Short-term rental listings are expected to grow by nearly 21% in 2022. However, localities are finding it harder to effectively monitor and tax these properties.

The fragmented market (125+ platforms) makes it nearly impossible for government leaders to monitor and identify 100% of listings while maintaining compliance. At the same time, owners continue to skirt short-term rental occupancy taxes that go toward schools, fire departments and other important community services.

We recently spoke with the Director of Community Services, Gustavo Roman from the City of College Station, TX to discuss his approach to addressing the gap in Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue the city was experiencing.

In summary we covered some of the outcomes of their approach that included:

  • Establishing a Short-Term Rental Ordinance
  • Identifying over 400 non-licensed STR’s in first 4 months
  • Uncovering over $100K in newfound Occupancy Tax Revenue
  • Establishing a 24/7 Hotline & Portal for Citizens
  • Creation of a “level playing field” for all Hotel and STR operators

If you are interested in gaining a better understanding of what YOUR short-term rental community looks like and where it’s trending, we’d like to send you a custom dashboard comprised of data from more than 100+ STR websites.

 

 

Helping Local Governments Prepare for Natural Disasters

On this episode, we are joined by Robert Pesapane of FEMA.

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Robert is an Emergency Management professional with over 10 years of state and federal government experience. He currently serves as the Director of the Recovery Division for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) where he is responsible for providing guidance, leadership and oversight to state and local governments in an effort to help them recover from all disasters.

He provides valuable insight on what it looks like for a jurisdiction to prepare for, face, and recover from a disaster.

This discussion with Robert Pesapane was taken from our show Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on
Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode
here.

How Monroe County Executed Its Paperless Initiative

Monroe County was established in 1821 and the amount of papers that was accumulating from the span of 200 years was exponential…leading the County to embark on the Paperless Initiative. Today we’re going to discuss what drove the county to venture towards this initiative and the steps they’re taking to achieve it.

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As the County Archivist, Kelly Smith , is responsible for managing the long-term storage and preservation of official records and ensuring that the public has access to them.

Together we discussed:

  • The situation storing 200 years worth of paper.
  • Top factors to consider when looking for a vendor to help go paperless.
  • Understanding state record retention rules
  • Workflow for digitizing a large collection of records
  • Changes in storing, and retrieving documents.

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

COVID Impact on Tourism Leads to Investment Opportunity

If you work in government in a tourism town, the pandemic was a nightmare come true.

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But what happens when the tourists don’t stop coming?

That’s exactly the situation Jess Knudson, a City Manager from Lake Havasu, AZ, found himself in last year. He joined the show to share how he tackled the issue.

We discuss:

  • The initial dropoff and later surge of tourism in Lake Havasu
  • How Jess helped navigate budgeting and allocating resources to tackle the problem
  • The challenge of navigating government financial support in the wake of the pandemic
This discussion with Jess Knudson was taken from our show Local Government Insights: Modernizing Government Leadership. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

 

If you don’t use Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can find every episode here.

How Florence, Alabama Found Millions in Sales Tax Revenue

With just over 40,000 residents, Florence is Alabama’s 11th largest city. Home to the University of North Alabama, this vibrant and welcoming town also hosts the state’s most popular renaissance festival, held annually each October.

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Bob Leyde, beloved City Clerk for the City of Florence, Alabama, is a pillar of the local community as well as a talented and innovative administrator. He wisely utilized Avenu’s vast capabilities to generate up-to-the-minute analytics for more accurate projections of sales tax revenue during the COVID pandemic and increase the efficiency of his administration staff.
Here’s a sneak peek:
  • Detailed reporting helped Bob overcome budgeting challenges and increase compliance.
  • Accurate and real-time information about current business opportunities and revenue collection is crucial to his decision-making process.
  • Avenu streamlined the city’s tax administration with a laser-focused audit process.
  • Bob encourages leaders of cities of any size to see how Avenu’s technology can optimize operations and maximize revenue generation.

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

COVID-19 Impact on Kalamazoo County, MI with Thomas Whitener

Thomas Whitener recently unseated a 13-year incumbent in a tight election that was fueled by promises of change and cultural shift that was highly sought after across the county. Thomas is licensed Real Estate Agent, entrepreneur, and former interactive systems and balance designer who is making a big impact on Kalamazoo County. He has built his career on openness and transparency and plans to establish a culture of accountability and fairness to all constituents.

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Thomas joined us to discuss many of the challenges that local government leaders are facing and highlight some of the best insights across the industry.
Here’s a sneak peek of the episode:
  • What it was like to run a people focused campaign during the pandemic
  • The roles and responsibilities of county treasurer
  • The Delinquent Tax Responsibility and how that was affected by COVID
  • Resources that helped constituents avoid foreclosure
  • Budget shortfalls
  • What recovery look like for Kalamazoo County as we climb out of the pandemic

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

COVID-19 Impact on City of Eastvale, CA: The City That Never Stopped

Bryan Jones was appointed as the City Manager of Eastvale, CA in 2018. Under his leadership the city has risen to new heights and become one of the Top 20 Best Places to Live in the country.

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In recent months amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Eastvale has seen immense growth across various industries including:

    • 32.26% increase in new business applications and renewals
    • 5.95% increase in property taxes
    • 7.69% increase in sales & use tax
    • 6.49 % increase in franchise fees

Learn the principles that made this city a success story during COVID!

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

ARPA Key Considerations for State & Local Governments

With the American Rescue Plan Act, state and local governments are seeing opportunities to address some of the challenges they are facing brought on by the pandemic. Learn what this meansyou’re your jurisdiction.

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Mark Funkhouser, is the president of Funkhouser & Associates and the former mayor of Kansas City. He walks us through key considerations about the ARPA including:

  • The “eligible use cases” that were released and the intent behind some of the areas addressed
  • What governments be taking a look at when determining their overall strategy for spending
  • Reporting requirements
  • How to prioritize key areas

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

An Essential Task: Taking Records Digital

As technology advances, there comes the strenuous task of updating old documents into the new systems. Without these updates, older documents might become lost in the transition.

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John Buckley, Plymouth County Register of Deeds, walks us through the digital transformation of records:

    • A brief look at John’s career
    • A history of Plymouth’s legacy
    • Insight into transitioning old documents to digital
    • Perspective on the digital shift

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.

COVID-19 Impact on City of Pasadena, CA

COVID tested localities in new in challenging ways. While we are coming out of the pandemic, we can learn from different jurisdictions as we prepare for the future.

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Matt Hawkesworth, Finance Director for the City of Pasadena, CA about the different areas of impact COVID-19 has had on the City and how his team has shifted priorities to help balance ever increasing budget deficits.

In this show we discuss:

  • Top areas the City of Pasadena was affected over the past 12-18 months
  • The approach to using reserves during the process
  • The impact of restaurant closures in a city with one of the largest number per capita
  • The American Rescue Plan
  • The importance of resiliency

This discussion was taken from our show Local Government Insights. If you want to hear more episodes like this one, check us out on Apple, and all your other favorite podcast platforms. Take a moment listen on your favorite platform. We would appreciate your reviews and feedback as we continue to release upcoming episodes.